Italian restaurant chain Bertucci’s is closing more locations after filing for bankruptcy again to mitigate losses.

The Massachusetts-based business, which has locations along the East Coast and is best known for its brick oven pizza and pasta, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Florida last week. It marked the chain’s third bankruptcy since 2018.

Bertucci’s also closed seven of its underperforming locations – five in Massachusetts, one in Rhode Island and one in Maryland. It now operates 15 restaurant locations in six states, according to court documents.

RESTAURANT CHAIN BERTUCCI’S FILES FOR BANKRUPTCY PROTECTION

Italian restaurant chain Bertucci’s has filed for bankruptcy for the third time since 2018. It has also closed seven restaurants to mitigate losses, according to an April 24 bankruptcy filing. (WFXT)

The company cited the “deterioration” of the U.S. economy and “lack of consumer demand for legacy casual-dining brands” as reasons why the restaurant chain has been operating at a loss, according to the filing.

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“With losses accumulating, inflationary pressures still high, and industry headwinds gusting, the proverbial final straw fell on [Bertucci’s] this year as the world saw food costs soar, consumer spending slow, and an uncertain global economy falling in (and out) of decline,” as stated in the bankruptcy documents.

Bertucci’s has assets and liabilities between $10 million and $50 million, according to the filing.

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The restaurant chain hopes bankruptcy will provide the business with a “breathing spell” so it can “determine the best path forward and formulate an overall reorganizational plan,” it said in the filing.

In April 2018, Bertucci’s filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and closed 15 restaurants. In December 2022, amid challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic like the closure of restaurants and inflation, it declared bankruptcy for a second time and streamlined operations down to 23 locations, according to the filing.

Bertucci’s previously filed for bankruptcy in 2018 and 2022. (WFXT)

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Bertucci’s did not respond to FOX Business’ request for comment.

For Flags of Valor – a veteran-owned and operated business that has shipped more than 96,000 flags to doorsteps nationwide – the phrase “made in America” lies at the foundation of everything it stands for.

“For over 10 years, we’ve been saying the same thing – we build American products, on American wood, with American tools, made by American hands,” Flags of Valor founder and military veteran Brian Steorts told FOX Business. “And we do it while giving back to the causes that matter – supporting veterans, educating youth, and honoring service and sacrifice at every step.”

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Founded in Virginia in 2015, Flags of Valor is known for its handcrafted, wooden U.S. flags, as well as military and first responder flags. The business currently has 10 employees, the majority of whom are veterans and military spouses.

Flags of Valor currently has 10 employees, the majority of whom are veterans and military spouses. (Flags of Valor)

Each material used by the Flags of Valor team – from the woodworking tools to the tape for the shipping boxes – is sourced from American companies, according to Steorts.

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“We believe that’s the only way it should be done,” Steorts said.

Steorts, a combat veteran who was deployed nine times, served in the U.S. Army as a paratrooper and later as an Air Force special operations pilot. 

In 2013, he got into woodworking after returning from one of his deployments injured and “mentally and physically” broken, he said. During that same time period, Steorts also lost four friends in combat and his sister to mental health struggles.

Founded in Winchester, Virginia, in 2015, Flags of Valor is known for its handcrafted, wooden U.S. flags, as well as military and first responder flags. (Flags of Valor)

“I wanted something patriotic on the wall of my house – something that meant something,” Steorts said. “I found therapy in [woodworking], and I found philanthropy in it by donating my first couple of flags to the widows of my buddies that passed, and I just knew I wanted to do more.”

While Flags of Valor’s best-selling products today are its wooden U.S. flags, the business also sells patriotic home and office decor, awards, memorial displays, corporate gifts, employee recognition pieces, Christmas ornaments, clothing and accessories, and more, Steorts said. 

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“One of the most important things we’re doing right now is building memorial flag cases – because our heroes deserve a final resting place for their flag that’s made by a veteran-owned American company, not mass-produced overseas,” he said.

Flags of Valor Founder Brian Steorts is pictured with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House in 2017. (Flags of Valor)

In addition to employing veterans, Flags of Valor has also given back by donating $1.7 million to veteran-operated nonprofits. 

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the company also launched a Kids Flag Building Kit, a hands-on activity to help educate children about the history and values the American flag represents. Each year, during the weeks of Veterans Day and Memorial Day, thousands of students across the nation use the kits to create their own American flags.  

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“We believe in educating our youth and passing freedom on to the next generation,” Steorts said. “It’s more than a project – it’s about patriotism, education and preserving what matters most.”